Blackpool RNLI volunteer responds to emergency two hours after becoming a dad
Blackpool RNLI volunteer and new dad Martyn Bibb is hoping for a peaceful Fathers’ Day on Sunday (16th June) after responding to an emergency just two hours after he became a dad for the first time on Thursday 6th June.
Martyn and his wife Ann became parents to their first son, Harry, on Thursday 6th June at 10pm. Just two hours later Blackpool’s RNLI volunteers were called to an emergency and incredibly, having just settled his wife and newborn son on the ward, Martyn responded to his pager.
Martyn said, ‘Harry was born at 10pm and meeting him for the first time was the most incredible and overwhelming experience I’ve ever had; he is perfect. As midnight approached, Ann & Harry were settled on the ward and I was starting to think about heading home for a couple of hours rest but my pager went off instead.
All RNLI volunteer crewmembers carry a pager 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year and when the pager goes off, the training kicks in, we drop what we’re doing and respond.
As I started to get ready to head home from the hospital I was feeling a bit stunned by the experience of becoming a new dad so the pager sound was actually quite helpful and reassuring. Thanks to my training I know exactly how to respond to that sound and heading out on the lifeboat brought me back down to earth.
I’m really looking forward to introducing Harry to his lifeboat station family but I’m hoping that wont happen on Sunday! I’d like to celebrate my first Fathers’ Day by relaxing with Ann and Harry.’
RNLI media contacts
For more information please telephone Esther Lowe, RNLI volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer on 07917091948 or email [email protected] or contact the RNLI Press Office on 01202 336789.
Key facts about the RNLI
The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives.
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